Cleaning a Skull on the Cheap

[swheeler]

I thought some might find this interesting. I decided I wanted the buffalo skull cleaned to be used as an" European Mount" as the 800.00-1200.00 (depending on the taxidermist)for a shoulder mount was out of the question. So I called the taxidermist that had quoted me the 800 dollar price to see about cleaning the skull, I had already skinned it out and removed the bottom jaw, he said the beetles would eat it clean in a month, and he would give it a coat of urethane for 135.00. Being the "cheap bastard" I am, and liking to do things my way, I decided to do it myself! I took a wash tub and filled it partially full of tap water, set it on my smelting setup, added the skull and a cup of liquid Tide detergent, lit the fire and let it start to boil. I then added as much water as I could to get coverage on the skull, about every hour or so I would turn the skull, "cooking" a new place on it. After about 8 hours, I turned the burner off, and with a gloved hand I pulled the meat from bone, poped the eyeballs out, and used a bent coat hanger to fish the brains out. Then off to the car wash, after about 3.00 in quarters it looked pretty good, I let it dry for a day and took my pocket knife and a dental pick and removed everthing I found that resembled meat,vessels, and cartlidge. I then set the skull in the bath tub and sprayed it with Awesome- all purpose cleaner, degreaser, and spot remover, scrubbed that around for a hour or so with a plastic scrub brush, reaching into all the little nooks and crannies, rinsed with cold water. I then took my freshly cleaned(degreased) wash tub, filled it with tap water and 1 gallon of Clorox bleach, set the skull in for about 4 hours turning twice to make sure the bleach reached all parts of the skull, rinsed with cold water after removing, and let it dry completely. I now have a "memory" that I can touch!
Scooter

[nighthunter]

Looks good .... I've heard that burying in an anthill will do the same as the beatles.
Nighthunter

[Bullshop]

Swheeler
My neibor raises bison and cull's about 25 to 50 per year from his herd. His wife is native and she beads the skulls and sells them, they look realy nice. I asked him how he gets them so white after boiling and how to keep them from falling apart. He told me they put Elmers glual in with the boil. It makes them so white you can believe it, and when they dry it helps hold everything together. I will ask him for his boil recipe if you want.
BIC/BS

[Bigscot]

I have been told to boil the scull with borax in the water and it will come out white.

BS

[swheeler]

Dan; If you get a chance I would appreciate hearing his technique. Yes the suture lines have opened, teeth are loose, but separate pieces of the skull still seem to be hooked together good- the Elmer's sounds like a good idea! I too am married to an Indian, but she's only half, so when I told her to chew the hide she said she couldn't, had to be full blooded!
Scooter

[357maximum]

My father in law uses harsh hydrogen peroxide from a hairstylist mixed with elmers in the boil . his skulls come out real white and last and last. he gets the worst meat and such off then puts it in a wood framed cage of 1/8 in hardware wire outside and the beatles show up and do the rest. After a month or so he boils it.

[NVcurmudgeon]

Scooter, that's a nice looking trophy. For $135 the taxidermist must have been chargng for Beatles, rather than beetles.

[swheeler]

Bill; you are correct, I had John,Paul, George and Ringo chowing down! I guess the taxidermists think they have to compete with the oil companies. he-he-he

[Blackwater]

Don't know about its use in skulls, but I think mineral oil is used to help preserve ivory and the like. Has anyone ever heard of its use in preserving skulls?

That Elmer's glue idea sounds like it'd whiten AND strengthen the skull, PLUS keep those loose teeth and skull plates a bit more firmly attached. That's why I like hangin' around here. No tellin' what I'll learn next!

[RugerFan]

After boiling, if you still have some stubborn, hard to get to tendons/flesh, try soaking the skull in water with Biz bleach added for a few days. It HAS to be Biz (powdered). This will eat the flesh without attacking the bone like other harsher bleaches will. I was told this by a game biologist in Alaska years ago and have done it several times with bear and deer skulls. It does work.

[carpetman]

Soaking a skull,skin,legs etc in a mixture of 1-----1 1/2 cups of 20 Mule Team Borax to a gallon of water will pretty much keep any small amount of flesh that is left from stinking. Soak it about 3 days and rinse well. It willl discolor antlers so make sure they aren't in the solution.